Women's Lacrosse

Brooke Diamond O’Brien is in her 11th season as the head women’s lacrosse coach at Washington and Lee. She has posted a 149-46 (.764) overall record in her first 10 seasons at the helm.

O'Brien's first campaign resulted in one of the best seasons in program history. The Generals set a school record for wins in a season (17-3) and acheived the highest national ranking (5th) in the the history of the program. W&L went undefeated in conference play, claimed the conference tournament title and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

In her second season, O'Brien led the Generals to a 13-5 overall record, including a 7-1 mark in ODAC play. The Generals reclaimed the ODAC title and made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament during her third season, finishing with a 14-5 overall record while going undefeated in conference play. O'Brien guided the inexperienced rebuilding 2013 team to the ODAC title after beginning the season with a 2-5 overall record. W&L finished 10-10 overall, knocking off the tournament's top two seeds on the road to claim the league title and NCAA Tournament berth. For her efforts, she was named the ODAC Coach of the Year for the third time.

In 2014, O'Brien led the team to a 17-3 overall mark, which tied the program's record for wins in a season. The Generals claimed their fifth-consecutive ODAC title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament regional round after taking down Denison, 13-5, in the second round at home. W&L ended its season when it fell to fourth-ranked TCNJ, 13-7, in the regional round. Coach O'Brien also recorded her 100th career win in the ODAC title game after going a perfect 10-0 in conference play and 11-0 at home.

In the 2015 campaign, the Blue and White claimed a 16-3 overall record and a 10-0 mark in ODAC action. W&L won its sixth-consecutive conference championship and appeared in the NCAA Tournament and defeated Sewanee, 18-4, in the second round. The Generals’ season came to an end when they lost, 9-5, to 17th-ranked Fredonia in the regional round.

O’Brien’s 2016 squad started slow with an 0-4 record after four games, but went on to win 13 of its next 14 games and claimed the program’s seventh-consecutive ODAC Title. For her efforts, O’Brien was named ODAC Coach of the Year for the fourth time in her career. The Generals fell to Mount Union, 11-10, in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament and finished the season 13-6 overall and a perfect 9-0 in the ODAC.

In 2017, O’Brien led W&L to one of the best seasons in program history. The Generals went 19-2 overall and captured the program’s eighth-straight ODAC Title. The Blue and White advanced to the NCAA Semifinals for the first time in program history, before falling to TCNJ, 5-4, in double overtime. W&L set a new program record for wins in a season and earned its first No. 1 ranking in the Nike/US Lacrosse poll for the first time in program history. For her efforts, O’Brien was named the ODAC and VaSID Coach of the Year.

O'Brien came to W&L after serving as an assistant women's lacrosse coach at Amherst College and as a graduate assistant women's soccer coach at Smith College from 2005-07.

At Amherst, O'Brien assisted in all aspects of the program and helped lead the Lord Jeffs to a No. 6 ranking and the NCAA Quarterfinals in 2006. At Smith, O'Brien was also involved in all aspects of the women's soccer program and helped lead the team to a 14-7-1 record and an ECAC New England Championship during the 2006 season. O'Brien graduated Magna Cum Laude from Amherst in 2003 with a bachelor of arts in psychology and law, jurisprudence and social thought. She earned a total of 12 letters as a member of the women's lacrosse, women's soccer and women's basketball teams and served as a captain for all three sports.

In lacrosse, she was a two-time First Team All-America selection and two-time Kelly Award winner as the Division III National Goaltender of the Year. She was named the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Division III Scholar-Athlete of the Year and was selected the Division III Women's Lacrosse Tournament's Most Outstanding Player in leading the Lord Jeffs to the 2003 National Championship. In soccer, O'Brien was a four-time all-region selection as a goalkeeper, leading Amherst to the 2001 NESCAC Championship and an NCAA Tournament Runner-up finish. She was a two-year captain of the basketball team. Following her playing career, O'Brien was presented the Howard Hill Mossman Trophy as the senior athlete who brought the greatest honor to athletics at Amherst College during their four years.

A native of Longmeadow, Mass., and an alumnus of the Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor, Conn., O'Brien worked as a financial analyst with Goldman, Sachs & Co., in New York and London from 2003-05. She earned a master of science in exercise and sports studies from Smith College in the spring of 2007.

The former Brooke Diamond married W&L Assistant Football Coach Brendan O'Brien in July of 2011. The couple reside in Lexington with their sons Davis and Grant.

DIAMOND O'BRIEN YEAR-BY-YEAR AT W&L

YEAR

RECORD

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

2008

17-3

ODAC Champions, NCAA Second Round, School Record for Wins, ODAC Coach of the Year

2009

13-5

ODAC Runner-up

2010

14-5

ODAC Champions, NCAA First Round

2011

15-5

ODAC Champions, NCAA Second Round, ODAC Coach of the Year

2012

15-5

ODAC Champions, NCAA First Round

2013

10-10

ODAC Champions, NCAA First Round, ODAC Coach of the Year

2014

17-3

ODAC Champions, NCAA Regional Round, Tied School Record for Wins, VaSID Coach of the Year

2015

16-3

ODAC Champions, NCAA Regional Round

2016

13-6

ODAC Champions, NCAA First Round, ODAC Coach of the Year

2017

19-2

ODAC Champions, NCAA Semifinals, ODAC & VaSID Coach of the Year, School Record for Wins

10 YEARS

149-46 (.764)

9 ODAC Titles, 9 NCAA Bids, 5 ODAC Coach of the Year Awards, 2 VaSID Coach of the Year Awards